Catawba got three quick runs in the first as Keaton Hawks (Lexington, NC/E. Davidson HS) led off with a double and came around to scored when Garrett Furr (Gold Hill, NC/Mt. Pleasant HS) reached first after striking out. Paul Kronenfeld (Greensboro, NC/Woodberry Forest HS/Georgia Tech) added a RBI single and Craig Brooks (Monroe, NC/Parkwood HS) brought home the last run on a bases-loaded walk.

Aiken’s first four batters reached in the bottom half of the inning, but Will Johnson (Faith, NC/E. Rowan HS) entered to get a double play grounder and a fielder’s choice to limit the damage to just two runs. That began a parade of six Catawba pitchers on the day with Johnson picking up his first career win.

Ross Whitley (Mooresville, NC/Lake Norman HS) tossed three scoreless innings and Sean Grant (Statesville, NC/W. Iredell HS) added two more. While the pitching shut USCA down on just three hits over six innings, Catawba eventually added to its lead.

Ethan Satterfield (Madison, NC/McMichael HS) got two runs home on a single and an error in the sixth and Brooks picked up a RBI single in the seventh to stretch the lead to 6-2. USCA got a run back in its seventh on a single by Ty Barkell, but Chris Dula (Troutman, NC/S. Iredell HS) singled home a run in the eight for a 7-3 Catawba edge.

Aiken threatened in the eighth, scoring a run and loading the bases with two outs before Ryan McClintock (Matthews, NC/Providence HS) got the Indians out of the inning. The junior went on to record his third save.

Dula and Kronenfeld had two hits for Catawba, while Brooks had a pair of RBI. Josh Miller had two hits for Aiken, who stranded 14 runners.

Catawba jumps back into league action this weekend, hosting Brevard for a three-game set starting Friday night at 6 p.m.